Night: a memoir by Elie Wiesel

a project sample by Ms. Caldwell

Night: a memoir by Elie Wiesel

a project sample by Ms. Caldwell

Before the Holocaust

Elie Wiesel grew up in Sighet, Transylvania with three sisters and his parents. Elie wasn't very close to his father before the war because his father was very involved in the community. Elie was a very religious boy, drawn to Jewish studies. He found a mentor in Moishe the Beadle, a man willing to discuss the Kabbalah and more mystic aspects of his religion. When Moishe the Beadle was taken by the Nazis (and later escaped to tell his tale) was the first personal connection Elie had to the war around him. His life was further affected by the edicts passed that restricted Jews from regular everyday activities. Eventually, he and his family were moved to a ghetto.

During the Holocaust

About life in the camps.

The Ghetto in Sighet

Before Elie Wiesel and his family were put on trains to the camps, they were forced to live in a ghetto in Sighet. All the Jews from the area lived in cramped quarters with no freedom to leave.

Auschwitz

Auschwitz was the first camp Elie went to. It was in this camp that he was separated from his mother and sisters forever. He and his father were "selected" to live in the concentration camp under deplorable conditions.

Buna

Buna was the camp where he spent the most time. He was part of a kommando unit, moving bricks and doing hard physical labor daily. The work was very hard on his ailing father, who was getting weaker each day.

(I would have different pics for each paragraph and would probably expand with another block or so.

The Ghetto in Sighet

Before Elie Wiesel and his family were put on trains to the camps, they were forced to live in a ghetto in Sighet. All the Jews from the area lived in cramped quarters with no freedom to leave.

Auschwitz

Auschwitz was the first camp Elie went to. It was in this camp that he was separated from his mother and sisters forever. He and his father were "selected" to live in the concentration camp under deplorable conditions.

Buna

Buna was the camp where he spent the most time. He was part of a kommando unit, moving bricks and doing hard physical labor daily. The work was very hard on his ailing father, who was getting weaker each day.

(I would have different pics for each paragraph and would probably expand with another block or so.

After the Holocaust

Elie Wiesel became a free man at the age of fifteen when the Russians advanced on Buchenwald. He was very weak and sick and was put in an infirmary. He was later sent to France with other orphans where he attended school and university.

Elie Wiesel went on to write and publish numerous books. He became a U.S. citizen and began teaching in U.S universities. Elie Wiesel won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986. He founded the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity and continues to do work around the world on behalf of human rights.

The Elie Wiesel Foundation Prize in Ethics -- 20 years of ethical leadership

Wiesel's Prize in Ethics- a video explanation

This is a video about an essay contest and prize through Elie Wiesel's foundation. Elie Wiesel briefly explains his beliefs around human rights. He is obviously a compassionate man who cares deeply about others and feels it is important to teach and model that compassion to others. I am amazed at how forgiving he can be after everything he experienced.